


Hitsuzen: A Drabble Collection

by Angelike



Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: Challenge Response, Community: hitsuzen_100, Drabble Collection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-18
Updated: 2010-10-13
Packaged: 2017-10-02 13:25:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 78
Words: 8,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelike/pseuds/Angelike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles written for the <a href="http://hitsuzen-100.livejournal.com">hitsuzen_100</a> community on livejournal. Each is intended to stand on its own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sounds Like Love

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Hitsuzen](https://archiveofourown.org/works/289536) by [Solie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solie/pseuds/Solie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happiness and love go hand-in-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Definition of Happiness" prompt.

“What is happiness?”

Watanuki blinked, glancing at the young girl walking beside him—yet another of Yūko’s customers—and wondered where to start.

“Happiness…” he replied, voice hesitant and soft. “Happiness is having someone to share your meals with, and someone to keep you company when you’re lonely. Happiness is knowing there will always be someone at your side, no matter the danger. Happiness is having someone you can trust with your life.”

“That sounds like love.”

Watanuki smiled wistfully, thoughts drifting toward the boy he had come to rely on so much. “Yes, it does.”

“Are you happy?”

“Maybe.”


	2. Sounds Like Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dōmeki would recognize the real Watanuki anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Possession" prompt.

Dōmeki gazed into those familiar blue eyes and knew in an instant that the Watanuki pouting flirtatiously up at him was not his Watanuki.

“Who are you, really?” he demanded.

The false Watanuki smirked: “So, you’ve found me out.”

“I’m going to have to insist that you vacate that body immediately,” Dōmeki murmured. “It does not belong to you.”

The spirit possessing Watanuki’s body chuckled condescendingly. “You speak as if you have a say in the matter.”

“Of course I do,” Dōmeki responded, striking out with his purifying energy before the spirit could react. “Watanuki is _mine alone_ to possess.”


	3. I Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimihiro and Shizuka meet as children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Childhood" prompt.

“Why do you always sit over here by yourself?” Kimihiro asked the other boy curiously. Everyone had told him to stay away from the unsociable child from the shrine. He was strange, they said. But Kimihiro thought he just looked lonely.

The boy glanced up at him from the corner of the sandbox only to hastily advert his eyes again, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Because no one likes me,” he replied quietly.

“That’s not true. I like you.”

“Really?” murmured the boy, looking up with hope shining in his eyes.

“Really,” Kimihiro grinned. “So come play with me.”


	4. The One I Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Picture Frame" prompt.

Dōmeki didn’t know what he’d expected to find when he’d opened the front door to Watanuki’s apartment, his precious cargo cradled safely against his chest, but he certainly hadn’t been expecting anything quite so Spartan. There wasn’t a decorative babble in sight.

Frowning, Dōmeki entered the bedroom and carefully settled the boy onto the bed, chuckling when Watanuki groaned in protest at being parted. Stepping back, he noticed something out of place on the bedside table—a picture frame with _his_ photograph in it.

His eyes widened as they came to rest on the frame’s caption: “The one I love.”


	5. Study Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Loneliness" prompt.

“Why are _you_ here?” Watanuki snarled lowly, glaring daggers at the vision of serenity sitting across from him at the library table.

Dōmeki arched a brow, lips curling into an all-too-familiar smirk: “The same reason you’re here: to study.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” cried Watanuki, voice cutting through the silence like a knife through butter, earning him much shushing and a warning look from the librarian. Blushing profusely, he turned his attention back to his unimpressed companion. “Why, of all places, did you have to choose to sit _here with me_?”

“Because you looked lonely.”


	6. Taking You With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Postcard" prompt.

“I hear you’ve been accepted to some prestigious university in the United States,” Watanuki commented, the mist in his eyes belying his careless expression.

“Yes. I have.”

“Well, congratulations,” Watanuki murmured stiffly. “You’ll send me postcard, won’t you?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Dōmeki snorted.

Watanuki’s temper flared: “Who are you calling an—”

“I’m taking you with me.”

Just as quickly as it arrived, Watanuki’s rage vanished, replaced by confusion. “Oh, but...”

Dōmeki smiled softly, reaching out to caress the other boy’s cheek with gentle fingers. “You didn’t really think I would be able to leave you behind, did you?”


	7. A Reluctant Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Change" prompt.

“Fine, then!” Watanuki scowled, wondering not for the first time what he could have possibly done to accumulate so much bad karma. “We’ll flip a coin. If I win, you go away and leave me in peace. If you win, I’m yours for the day. Deal?”

Dōmeki just smirked, holding out a bit of spare change for Watanuki to inspect. Finding nothing unusual about the coin, he eyes his companion wearily. “Heads or tails?” he asked, flipping it into the air.

“Heads.”

Watanuki caught the coin (just barely) and glowered balefully when he saw the results.

“My place or yours?”


	8. Winter's Embrace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Shivers" prompt.

Watanuki was trembling uncontrollably, face flushed with exertion, lips parted in sinful temptation as he panted softly into the night air. Chilled after yet another near-death experience and too weary to argue, he offered little resistance when his companion wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him near, warming him with his presence.

Dōmeki studied the boy huddled against him, wondering if he would shiver so sweetly in the throes of passion as he did now, but quickly shook the thought away, mentally chastising himself. Watanuki wasn’t ready for him—not yet.

He could wait a little longer.


	9. No Need For Wishes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Wish" prompt.

Watanuki stared down at the blank paper before him, taping his pen against the table as he studied the peculiar essay question for his Philosophy class and waited for divine inspiration to strike.

“Dōmeki?”

“Hmm?” his boyfriend grunted, glancing up from his textbook.

“If you could have any one wish granted, what would you wish for?” he inquired. Maybe a little insight into someone else’s mind would help him find a wish suitable to write about.

Dōmeki frowned, brows furrowing thoughtfully as he considered the question. “Nothing,” he said finally.

“Nothing!”

“I already have you. What else do I need?”


	10. Rejection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Doors" prompt.

“When one door closes, another door opens,” Yūko quipped, smiling her usual mysterious smile.

Watanuki attempted a glare, but only managed to muster a whimper: “Himawari-chan...”

Her smile faltered, dampened a bit by her failure to alleviate the misery of her apprentice. “Maybe you had better take him home, Dōmeki-kun...”

The other boy nodded in silent agreement, reaching down to pull Watanuki to his feet, and gently guided him away from the scene of his heartbreak.

Yūko watched them go, comforted in the knowledge that—with Himawari out of the way—Watanuki would soon recognize his true soul-mate.


	11. Dreamcatcher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Chaos" prompt.

In the beginning there was chaos.

Lustful spirits dogged his steps, haunting him—wanting him. At night, he could sense them pressing against the wards strategically placed around his apartment, and though the wards had never yet failed him, for hours he would lay awake in abject terror, his mind whispering that this could be the night it ended.

Daylight was little better. There was no where to hide when he emerged from his haven.

For him, life was just one nightmare after another—and try as he might, he could never wake up.

Then he met Dōmeki.


	12. Breaking the Barrier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Shards" prompt.

The other boy had been very clever about it. Watanuki hadn’t even noticed it was happening—hadn’t noticed the chisel and hammer carefully chipping away at the wall around his heart until it was already too late. The barrier shattered like glass.

“You...”

The words caught in his mouth. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know why there were tears in his eyes, or why he was so afraid, because-

“You’re joking.”

—because it couldn’t be true.

“No,” his adversary denied—and then Dōmeki was kissing him, and the final shards of his fragile defense fell away.


	13. Speedo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Sunburn" prompt.

“Let me get this straight,” Watanuki grumbled, eying his companion distrustfully. “While you were visiting your cousins this weekend you went to the beach.”

“Yes,” Dōmeki nodded.

“And while you were at the beach you somehow managed to burn yourself to a rosy hue that even a tomato would be jealous of.”

“It would appear so.”

“Didn’t you ever stop to think you should _put on some sunscreen_?”

“I was distracted.”

“By what?” he exclaimed. “All the girls wandering around in skimpy bikinis?”

“I was imagining you in a Speedo.”

Watanuki gaped.

“Oi! Where’s that _aloe vera_ you promised me?”


	14. Better Than Apathy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Hate" prompt.

Occasionally, when he was feeling particularly hopeless and self-destructive, he would make a game of pushing the always-spastic and normally-gentle Watanuki to whole new levels of annoyance and frustration: the more explosive the reaction, the better. The more vehemently the boy voiced his abhorrence, the greater Dōmeki’s satisfaction.

It was twisted and perverse, but sometimes only Watanuki’s adamant denials of any semblance of friendly affection offered him any hope for the future.

After all, friendship wasn’t what he wanted at all.

At least where there was hatred there was passion. He could live with that—work with that.

For now.


	15. Live For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Love" prompt.

_“I would die for you. I love you that much!”_

Watanuki snorted irritably, glaring at television with distain at this passionate pronunciation. Dōmeki arched a brow and braced himself for the inevitable explosion as his lover’s frustration augmented.

“Why do people say that? It doesn’t make any sense at all!” Watanuki burst out, shaking his head in frustration. “I mean, if you loved someone, you wouldn’t want that person to die for you; rather, you would wish for that person live for you. Right?”

Dōmeki smiled gently, intertwining their fingers. “I’ll live for you, if you live for me.”


	16. The Date That Wasn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Denial" prompt.

“This is _not_ a date,” Watanuki hissed as the lights began to dim in the concert hall.

“Hn,” Dōmeki grunted, noncommittal.

“This is simply a _friendly_ outing. There is nothing strange or perverted about two guy-_friends_ going to a concert together—”

Dōmeki wondered when his _not_-date would realize the concert had begun and his persistent mutterings were not endearing him to their neighbors.

“—doesn’t matter what Yūko says, because—”

“Oi.”

“What?” Watanuki growled, preparing to launch into a whole new rant, but Dōmeki had other plans.

So he kissed him.

Watanuki was suspiciously silent for the remainder of the evening.


	17. The White Lady of Willow Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Trust" prompt.

“That poor woman...” Watanuki sighed, sad eyes fixed on the space the White Lady had occupied just moments before. Dōmeki’s arrow had struck true, as always.

“She was a vengeful spirit.”

“Yes.”

“She would have drowned you.”

“Yes, but still—I understand her anger. Her frustration. She was betrayed by the one she loved, her life stolen away by the very hand that should have protected her.”

“To place your trust in someone can be a very dangerous thing,” Dōmeki observed darkly.

“Yes,” Watanuki agreed, recognizing his lover’s words for what they were. “But sometimes it’s worth the risk.

“Kimihiro...”


	18. A Destiny of His Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Hitsuzen" prompt.

“There is only hitsuzen,” murmured Yūko, watching with amusement as a young lady stumbled into in the arms of a startled (but handsome) passerby.

“I hate it when you say that,” Watanuki commented darkly.

“But why? It’s the truth.”

“If everything is merely the result of hitsuzen, then what’s the point of living? Do our actions really have any meaning?” He hesitated. Then, more softly: “I would like to think I love Dōmeki because I _choose_ to and not because that was what destiny decided for me.”

If anyone could make his own destiny, Yūko thought, it would be Watanuki.


	19. Cinderella

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Fairy Tale" prompt.

“I suppose you planned this,” Watanuki scowled.

“Oh ho!” Yūko cackled. “This one was all Himawari-chan! You were the one who let her choose your costume without question.”

“You can feign innocence all you want,” Watanuki insisted, “but I know —”

“Your Prince Charming is waiting at the gate,” she interrupted. “You better hurry before he decides to go to the ball without you.”

“Humph!” Watanuki growled and stormed off in a huff. He even managed to make it all the way to the gate before stumbling on his high-heels and conveniently into Dōmeki’s arms.

Yūko rather thought he planned that.


	20. When Luck Runs Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Luck" prompt.

He had started to protest when Dōmeki had roughly seized his wrist after the spirit had been vanquished, but one look into those bottomless black eyes, churning dangerously with emotion, silenced him.

He had never seen Dōmeki so angry.

"What were you thinking, back there?" he hissed, "You could have died!"

"Dōmeki..."

"No excuses! What would you have done if I hadn't made it there in time? One of these days I won't be around to save you. One of these days I'm going to _lose_ you!"

_Oh_, Watanuki realized. _That's not fury reflected in his eyes_.

It was fear.


	21. No Matter What

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Alternate Universe" prompt.

“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if...”

“If?” Dōmeki frowned, wondering at the melancholy tone in his lover’s voice.

“If we had never met.”

His mouth went dry. Watanuki couldn’t be having second thoughts, could he? “Why do you ask?”

“If there are millions of alternate worlds parallel to our own, like Yūko says, then in at least one of those worlds we would have never met... Or fallen in love.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

Watanuki winced at the sharp tone.

Tugging the other boy into a gentle embrace, Dōmeki clarified: “I would have found you no matter what.”


	22. Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Dance" prompt.

“People are staring.”

Dōmeki looked down at his blushing dance partner, who was shooting nervous glances at their snickering classmates, and had to struggle to suppress a laugh himself. “So?”

“Well,” Watanuki mumbled, shifting uneasily, “we _are_ both _guys_.”

“So?”

“So! What if they get the wrong impression? What if they think we’re _together_?”

“They already do.”

Watanuki’s eyes went wide, but before his cry of horror could escape, Dōmeki had covered his mouth with his own and was kissing him to the sound of the triumphant hoots and hollers of their classmates. May as well appease their scheming matchmakers.


	23. Yūko's Last Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Too Far" prompt.

Watanuki was so pale. So still. Three days and he still hadn’t stirred.

“You’ve gone too far this time.”

“I know,” Yūko whispered. “I screwed up. And now he may never wake.”

“Oh, no,” Dōmeki replied coolly. “He’ll wake up. But you won’t be here to greet him.”

A foreboding chill shot down her spin.

“You’re not the only one capable of granting wishes.”

Realization dawned as a wave of magic struck. “Banishment!” she gasped.

Then she was gone.

“You will never hurt him again,” Dōmeki murmured. Let Watanuki hate him. It didn’t matter, so long as he was safe.


	24. Carnival Delights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Pink" prompt.

Dōmeki had never had much of a sweet tooth, but watching Watanuki indulge in the sugary pink confection as they ambled through the carnival was making him strangely...hungry.

“Delicious...” Dōmeki murmured lowly, wetting his lips with longing.

Watanuki, hearing his companion’s yearning tone, glanced his way with a puzzled expression. “Would you like some?” he offered innocently.

With a muted groan, Dōmeki’s resolve broke and in a matter of seconds he was pushing Watanuki up against the back wall of an empty maintenance shed and indulging in a tasty treat of his own, the cotton candy forgotten at their feet.


	25. A Love That Never Was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Sigh" prompt.

Somehow he had always expected all the pretenses and posturing to have fallen away by the time they entered university—and so it was with great bitterness that Dōmeki woke up one crisp fall morning during their sophomore year to realize that nothing had really changed since high school: Dōmeki still silently harbored a deep-seated love for his spastic friend, and Watanuki was still looking for love everywhere but with him.

With a wistful sigh and a glance towards the love of his life and _his_ latest sweetheart, Dōmeki wondered why he had ever believed wishes could come true.


	26. Southern Belles & Lordly Gents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Shake" prompt.

Watanuki had seen strange things before—things that could make grown men quiver in their boots—but he never seen _anything_ quite like this. Fairly shaking with repressed emotion, he attempted to face the astonishing spectacle hovering in the shadows with some measure of grace, but the hitch in his breath and his flushed cheeks betrayed him.

“What?” Dōmeki scowled.

Watanuki let loose, howling with laughter: “You’re wearing a dress!”

With a disdainful sniff, Dōmeki turned and flounced away, skirts swishing gracefully. Sniggering, Watanuki adjusted his top hat and cane and followed.

Maybe Shizuka O’Hara would save Kimihiro Butler a dance.


	27. Guardian Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Twist" prompt.

Watanuki hit the floor with an audible thud, crying out in acute agony as his arm twisted at an impossible angle beneath him. Gritting his teeth, he cradled the useless appendage to him as he frantically dodged another blow from his otherworldly assailant.

Then, as if in response to a silent prayer, Dōmeki appeared and the monster was vanquished.

Watanuki smiled: relieved, but unsurprised. Like some avenging angel, Dōmeki always arrived just when he was needed most.

“You’re late.”

“Idiot,” Dōmeki snorted, but his touch was gentle and his eyes filled with concern.

Watanuki couldn’t ask for a better friend.


	28. The Coat Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Insatiable" prompt.

“Dōmeki!” Watanuki hissed, glancing nervously over his lover’s shoulder as he struggled against the firm grip pinning his hands above his head. “What do you think you’re doing?”

A sharp nip to the side of his neck was his only response. Shivering at the sensation, Watanuki stifled a groan and tried to ignore the uncomfortable tightness of his pants.

“This really isn’t the place...”

Dōmeki pressed on, attacking the buttons of his shirt with a vengeance.

“We’ll be missed...”

Dōmeki lips found a single, pert nipple and Watanuki melted. Newlyweds were always sneaking off for a quickie in the coat room...


	29. The Amorous Ghost of Clearwater Mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Search" prompt.

“That idiot is nothing but trouble,” Dōmeki grumbled. Alas, the worried glimmering in his eyes belied the harshness of his words. His initial annoyance at finding that his partner had vanished was fast being replaced by anxiety and fear.

Yūko had _ordered_ him to keep Watanuki close. She must have had a reason.

What he found in the study explained her weariness: a youthful ghost had Watanuki pinned to the couch, his tongue in the boy’s mouth and one hand up his shirt...

With an outraged cry, he drove off the ghost and leveled a glare at his lover: “Cheater!”


	30. Cycle of Souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Endless" prompt.

“You come here every week,” the boy commented. Watanuki had felt the dark, thoughtful eyes of the caretaker’s son on him during many of his visits to this sacred place, but this was the first time the youth had dared to speak. It seemed destiny was finally taking its course.

Looking up, he let his mismatched gaze fall upon his companion and offered a knowing smile. The boy inched closer, fascinated by those eyes: so strange, and yet so familiar... “This man was a hero,” he said, “and he died for me.”

Respectfully, the boy studied the grave. _“Dōmeki Shizuka,”_ he read. _“His life was short, but his love is endless.”_ Then, in a mesmerized whisper: “He shares my name.”


	31. Without Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Feel" prompt.

Watanuki loved Dōmeki’s hands: calloused and strong, they were not the hands of the faint-hearted, nor the weak-willed; rather, they were the hands of a protector. He loved to watch those hands at work: from his grace with a calligraphy brush to the perfect control and precision with which he handled his bow, those hands were truly a marvel.

Of course, what he loved the best was the feel of those powerful hands on him, loving him. No matter his mood—amorous or angry—Dōmeki’s touch was always gentle, always considerate. Each brush of his fingertips said, “I love you.”


	32. Nightmare's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Night" prompt.

The sky was clear, the stars bright, and as Watanuki leaned against the balcony railing of his—_their_—new apartment he marveled at how drastically his life had changed.

“The stars are beautiful tonight,” he sighed, leaning back into the arms that held him tight, basking in the warmth of his lover’s embrace.

“Yes.”

“Before, I always had to barricade the windows after dark. The night held only terror for me.”

The arms tightened around him protectively. “You’re safe now, love.”

“I know.”

Dōmeki’s lips brushed his cheek: “Ready for bed?”

Watanuki nodded.

He had nothing more to fear.


	33. Sensitive Skin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Sun" prompt.

“Aren’t you wearing too much, Wata-kun?” Yūko giggled, fanning herself from beneath the shade of her beach umbrella. “School uniforms make terrible swimwear.”

Wiping sweat from his brow, Watanuki glowered. “My skin is sun-sensitive,” he snarled.

The gleam in the witch’s eye set Watanuki on edge, but it wasn’t until she called Dōmeki over that he realized his danger: “See that he enjoys himself,” she commanded, tossing a bottle his way.

Panicking, Watanuki fled, but Dōmeki was faster—and apparently quite eager to divest the smaller boy of his clothes.

His sunscreen-slicked hands felt better than Watanuki cared to admit.


	34. A Real Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Ticklish" prompt.

“You’re ticklish,” Watanuki gapped, astonished. He had long since resigned himself to the fact that his stoic friend would never _ever_ drop his facade of calm. To think he could be undone by something so _simple_.

Well, even Achilles had not been _completely_ invulnerable.

He snickered.

Dōmeki was not as amused: “I am _not_ ticklish.”

“Yeah, sure,” Watanuki scoffed, “and I don’t see ghosts.”

“I was just startled.”

“Okay, then,” he said, agreeably. “Then let’s test that theory.” Lunging forward, Watanuki tackled his wide-eyed friend and proceeded to draw from him breathless bursts of laughter.

Dōmeki was human after all.


	35. A Matter of Taste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Coffee" prompt.

“Can’t you just drink tea like normal people?” Watanuki grumbled, wrinkling his nose distastefully even as he poured a cup of his lover’s breakfast beverage of choice. “It _smells_ terrible.”

Dōmeki, having heard this complaint a thousand times before, merely offered his usual noncommittal grunt to show that he was listening and inhaled the heavenly aroma. Watanuki’s sense of smell was obviously flawed.

“I’ve heard that it could stunt your growth.”

Snorting softly, Dōmeki arched a suggestive brow.

Watanuki blushed. “W-well, okay. Maybe your... erm... _size_ is just fine,” he agreed, and suddenly found his sausage and eggs quite fascinating.


	36. Yūko, Donuts Fangirl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Donuts" prompt.

“Yūko...” Watanuki said, eyes narrowed with suspicion as he observed his employer. He’d seen her read before, but never with such a decidedly wicked grin on her face. It was worrying.

“Hmmm?”

“What are you reading?”

“Donuts.”

“Donuts,” he repeated, baffled. “You don’t even _like_ donuts. Why would you want to read about them?”

Yūko smirked, and suddenly he regretted saying anything at all. Her gaze, while not exactly sinister, was not the least bit comforting either. “I’m willing to make an exception for _this_ kind.”

Watanuki walked away from the encounter with the distinct impression that he’d missed something.


	37. Drowning Sorrows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Alcohol" prompt.

When Yūko woke him from his slumber to track down Dōmeki, he may have been mildly annoyed, but he was still quick to act. If his friend was in trouble, then what could he do but run to his rescue? Tit for tat, and all that.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he found: the normally quiet and composed young man utterly smashed and practically sobbing in the corner of a bar. However, it was the way Dōmeki pressed a sloppy kiss to his lips with a drunken plea that sent Watanuki’s mind reeling.

“Why can’t you love me?”


	38. A Helping Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Books" prompt.

Although Watanuki’s pocketbook was considerably lighter than when he had entered the university bookstore, his bookbag certainly was not. “Stupid textbooks,” he muttered with a pained wince. It didn’t help matters much that he was still sore from the previous night’s violent encounter with the dorm ghost.

“Hurting, still?” Dōmeki inquired.

“What do you think?” he snapped irritably, and prepared to launch into a wrathful tirade, only to be effectively cut off when Dōmeki reached over to relieve him of his burden, shouldering the bag without a word.

“Oh,” Watanuki blushed. Then, with a frown: “I’m not a girl, you know!”


	39. Snowed In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Snowflakes" prompt.

“Oh, _no_,” Watanuki groaned, glaring out at the torrents of snow preventing his escape from Dōmeki’s house. After four mind-blowing hours of cramming for mid-terms, all he wanted to do was go home and go to bed.

“Looks like you’re not going anywhere tonight.”

“And who’s fault is _that_?” Watanuki gritted out.

“God’s?”

“Funny. Weren’t you the one who told me it would only snow a little? Does that look like _a little snow_ to you?”

Dōmeki shrugged. “I’ll just set up the spare futon in my room, then.”

“Oh, _joy_.”

“Unless you’d rather sleep with me?”

“Ha, bloody, ha.”


	40. Sourpuss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Sour" prompt.

“Who are you calling a sourpuss?” Watanuki demanded, offended by his employers offhanded comments. “Just because _I_, unlike _some_ crazy people, don’t _like_ visiting haunted houses doesn’t mean I’m a _sourpuss_. Need I remind you of what happened the _last_ time we did this whole ‘lay spirits to rest’ thing? _I almost died!_”

“You can’t fool me,” Yūko giggled. “You’re just mad because Dōmeki couldn’t join us because of his archery tournament.”

Watanuki scowled. “He can do what he wants. It’s not like I need him, anyway.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why are you fidgeting with the charm he gave you?”


	41. Party Favors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Candy" prompt.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Watanuki yelped, gawking at the ‘party favor’ that had been slipped into his hand.

He’d known this whole ‘bridal shower’ thing had been a bad idea from the very beginning and _damn_ Himawari for asking so cutely. He loved his fiancée dearly, but he was still a sucker for that smile...

The hand-fasting? Fine. That was romantic.

But a bridal shower?

He wasn’t a _frickin’_ girl. And there was no way he was going to suck on a—

“You don’t like it?” pouted Himawari.

Watanuki popped the candy penis into his mouth.


	42. A Birthday Treat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Sweet" prompt.

“Uh, I-I, er...” Watanuki stammered, struggling weakly against the silken scarves binding his wrists to the headboard. When he’d promised his boyfriend whatever he wanted to eat for his birthday, he hadn’t really considered the possibility that _he_ might be on the menu. “I don’t know...”

Dōmeki’s hands were soothing against his naked skin. “If you want me to stop, just say the word. Understand?”

Watanuki nodded curtly, wondering if he’d lost his mind. He was nude, incapacitated, and candy-coated. Love made people do crazy things.

When Dōmeki’s tongue finally met his chocolate-sweetened skin, he shivered with pleasure.

Crazy wasn’t all bad.


	43. Reality is Worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Movie" prompt.

Watanuki’s breathes were slow and even, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, and Dōmeki noted ironically that this was the calmest he had even seen the other boy.

A high-pitched shriek filled the air, and Dōmeki winced as the girl sitting behind him echoed the sentiment.

Watanuki merely snorted sleepily and shifted so that his head came to rest on Dōmeki’s shoulder.

Funny how someone so easily frightened could nod off in the middle of a monster movie, but he supposed that was to be expected. What was a horror flick, when you saw real horrors every day?


	44. Naughty or Nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Present" prompt.

Christmas was only a week away and Watanuki was at the end of his rope. He’d never really had anyone to share the holiday with before, so he’d never realized what a nightmare gift-shopping could be.

This year was different.

This year he had a _boyfriend_. A boyfriend who was being terribly unhelpful in his insistence that he didn’t _want_ anything.

“Your company,” Dōmeki insisted, “is present enough for me.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Watanuki snarked. “Tie a big red bow around my neck and sit under the Christmas tree?”

“That depends. Would you be naked?”

“Pervert!”


	45. The Red String of Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "String" prompt.

“Who are they?” Watanuki murmured, fascinated by the two men arguing in the shadows of the ancient Sakura tree. One was clearly quite a bit younger than the other, but his eyes were so _old_... And the way he looked at the other man...

Even if the red thread thrumming vibrantly—almost _violently_—between them hadn’t been visible, he would have known that these two belonged together. Whatever their history, whatever their disagreement, they matched each other perfectly.

“Star-crossed lovers,” Yūko answered, voice tainted with bitterness. “Fate’s little joke.” Her cold, dark gaze fell on him, and he shivered. “Don’t let yourself become the same.”


	46. Do Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "First Kiss" prompt.

According to contemporary fiction and Hollywood, a first kiss was supposed to be like magic: alluring, wonderful, and absolutely _perfect_.

Screenwriters and novelists, Watanuki thought as he rubbed his nose with a painful blush, should really get in touch with reality. Smashing noses with the one he so terribly wanted to impress (thus spoiling “the mood”) wasn’t exactly how he’d imagined his first attempt.

Pathetic.

“What a pair of dunderheads we make, huh?” Dōmeki commented with an uncharacteristically soothing smile. “What do you say we call a do-over?”

Chuckling wryly, Watanuki agreed, and several do-overs later finally got it right.


	47. Ghosts of Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Before" prompt.

Dōmeki could always tell when his lover was thinking of Before. He could smile all he wanted, but there was no hiding the darkness in his eyes—the reflection of years of isolation, fear, and heartache that not even True Love could ever quite erase. Sometimes Dōmeki resented this wall between them, but mostly...

Well, mostly he just felt helpless.

The most fearsome ghosts of all were those that existed only in memory, and not even he could vanquish the past. Some battles Watanuki must fight for himself.

All Dōmeki could do was be there to pick up the pieces.


	48. Stress Relief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Romantic" prompt.

Watanuki might have known that Dōmeki had been up to something over the course of the past few days, if only he hadn’t been to preoccupied with work to notice, but as things stood, when he returned home to find a candle-lit trail of rose buds leading to the bedroom, he had been utterly dumbfounded.

Still, even a dummy could take a hint, and when he found his lover waiting for him, garbed in nothing but a silken robe, message-oils in hand, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Who would have guessed that the ever-serious Dōmeki was a true romantic at heart?


	49. Secret Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Platonic" prompt.

“Oh ho ho!” Yūko cackled wickedly, attention fixated on her young servant, who was beginning to realize what he had just admitted to in front of an eavesdropping audience if the horrified reddening of his cheeks was anything to go by. “You _do_ love him!”

“No!” Watanuki exclaimed desperately, eyes darting nervously between his blank-faced partner-in-crime and his over-eager employer. “I don’t! I mean, well... I do... But not like that! I meant _platonically_. Platonically!”

Yūko and Dōmeki shared a meaningful look.

“We’re... friends?” Watanuki continued weakly.

“You talk too much,” Dōmeki said flatly, and kissed him.

“Busted,” Yūko giggled.


	50. True Beauty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Love" prompt.

His lover was not beautiful in the traditional sense of the word: his body was too skinny, his skin too pale, his lips too dry, his eyes too _haunted_. Still, there was something about him that had drawn Dōmeki’s gaze long before they had ever formally met and now, more than ever, he found he could not look away—could not resist reaching for more.

And—oh!—how soft and warm that expanse of skin was when he finally had it beneath his fingers, the smooth dips and curves of his back marred only by a smattering of freckles and faded scars. As Dōmeki leaned down to worship those marks with his lips, he breathed a benediction: “Lovely.”


	51. In the Broom Closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Secret" prompt.

“D-Dōmeki!” Watanuki whimpered, clutching his boyfriend’s shoulders tightly as he bared his throat for further attention. He would throw a fit about leaving visible love-marks later, but for now he was too far gone to care.

His lover chuckled against his skin, the vibrations making him shiver sweetly. “Quiet, Kimi-chan,” Dōmeki teased, sliding his hand down sensitive flesh. “Or we’ll be discovered.”

Watanuki only moaned.

“Or maybe you would like that? Maybe that’s the thrill?”

“How can you t-talk—ugh!—at a time like _this_!” Watanuki snarled, and came with a muffled cry, Dōmeki’s mouth swallowing the sound of his pleasure.


	52. Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Numb" prompt.

The icy chill of winter had settled over Tokyo quite suddenly, catching many of its citizens off-guard and ill-prepared: Watanuki, in his haste to meet his boyfriend for their date, quickly found himself amongst this unfortunate statistic.

By the time he’d reached their pre-determined meeting point, he had lost all feeling in his fingers and he was almost positive his ears had fallen off a few streets back. Still, as miserable as he was, Watanuki couldn’t help but smile when he saw his bundled-up lover waiting patiently across the square.

Dōmeki’s hello-kiss warmed him in places winter could never touch.


	53. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Vision" prompt.

Watanuki woke screaming, his nightmarish vision still dancing before his eyes, and when a pair of warm arms enclosed him in a strong embrace, he buried his face in the fabric of his lover’s nightshirt and wept.

“Don’t die,” he pleaded again-and-again. “Don’t leave me behind.”

“Hush,” Dōmeki soothed, “I’m not going anywhere. I will always be with you.”

“Liar!” Watanuki sniffled brokenly. “I saw you die... I saw you...”

“Silly, Kimi-chan,” Dōmeki teased, the worry in his eyes belying the laughter in his voice. “Not even death could keep me from you. I will _always_ come back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”


	54. Not Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Friendship" prompt.

Watanuki hated when people commented on just how great their friendship was, though not for the reasons he would have them believe. Sure, he was occasionally annoyed by Dōmeki’s standoffish attitude and envious of how cool the other boy was under pressure, but only an utter fool could fail to like someone who had saved his life countless times and asked only for bento in return.

No, his problem wasn’t that he didn’t like the other boy; rather, he liked him _too much_. Admitting to friendship was like admitting they would never be anything more—something simply intolerable.

If he had it his way, they would never be friends.


	55. Body Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Symbol" prompt.

He had once heard that body-painting could be an intensely erotic experience, but he hadn’t really believed it.

Until now.

The smooth glide of the calligraphy brush against his naked skin, the coolness of the ink in contrast to the warmth of his flesh, the weight of the body straddling his hips: apart, these things might have passed as merely sensual, but together they were wreaking havoc on his senses.

“Finished?” Watanuki asked, voice thick with arousal, when Dōmeki finally pulled away.

“Yes. Come see.”

Bonelessly, Watanuki allowed his lover to position him between two mirrors—and found himself torn between outrage and amusement when he managed to decipher the kanji running down his spine: “Property of Dōmeki Shizuka.”


	56. Ridiculous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Déjà Vu" prompt.

Watanuki would never be a graceful person (or, indeed, a passingly well-coordinated one, as one of his former gym teachers had so despairingly concluded) but even he wasn’t usually in the habit of stumbling into the arms of a certain stunningly handso—er... _jerkish_ archer every time he turned around. There was clumsy, and then there was _ridiculous_.

He wasn’t ridiculous, thank you very much.

_Something is definitely going on,_ he decided with a blush as he extricated himself from Dōmeki’s protective hold for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. _Something strange._

Perhaps a mischievous spirit? That would also explain the way his heart raced and his palms began to sweat whenever Dōmeki appeared—right before he managed to make a fool of himself. Yes, that must be it. All he needed to do was wait for the spirit to grow bored, and surely all this strangeness would disappear.

Surely.


	57. Roughing It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Wild" prompt.

“Watanuki, pitch the tents! Watanuki, light the fire! Watanuki! Watanuki! Watanuki!” the witch’s apprentice grumbled, shooting an irritable scowl at his deliberately oblivious employer, his expression softening only a little when his eyes rested on Yūko’s giggling companion, the lovely Himawari. He sighed. “Cinderella never had it this bad. Camping! Bah!”

He turned back to the would-be fire, striking the flint fiercely.

Nothing. Not even a spark.

“This is hopeless!”

“Oi!” came an all-too-familiar voice. “Need a hand?”

“D-Dōmeki!” he blinked, surprised. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at an archery tournament!”

“I’m needed here more,” Dōmeki shrugged, stealing the flint and steel from Watanuki’s hands and easily setting the tinder alight in one fluid motion.

Watanuki gapped, then, with a sniff, declared: “Well, you’re going to have to sleep on the ground. We didn’t bring any extra sleeping bags.”

“Oh, but Watanuki-kun,” Yūko called out cheerily, “your sleeping bag is a _double_. He can just sleep with you!”

Dōmeki smirked. Watanuki’s eyes widened. “Wha—!”

“Watanuki and Dōmeki are such good friends!” Himawari cheered.


	58. That Which Conquers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Power" prompt.

“He’s going to be very powerful, isn’t he?” Dōmeki commented quietly, eyes fixed on the boy frantically dodging Mokona’s playful attacks on the other side of the park.

Yūko’s smile faltered, eyes darkening with memory—and dread. “Perhaps,” she replied, “or perhaps not. He walks a dangerous path—towards an end even I cannot predict.”

“Well, then,” Dōmeki murmured, “it is good that he does not walk alone.”

_Yes,_ Yūko thought, allowing herself to feel the first stirrings of hope. _If anyone can keep Kimihiro safe, it is this boy._

Does not true love conquer all?

Watanuki would be fine.


	59. The Razor's Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" prompt.

They danced on a razor’s edge, their relationship flitting dangerously along the border of love and hate, but this waltz—like any other—would have to come to an end sooner or later. Already their steps were slowing, their motions faltering, and the dimensional witch wondered and worried and prayed: when the fall occurred, all that came before would be left in ruins.

There would be no turning back.

Would there be kisses and promises and devotion capable of standing the test of time? Or would there be utter devastation?

Yūko remembered her own shattered romance, and made a Wish.


	60. Passing Fancy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Desire" prompt.

Dōmeki wasn’t sure, precisely, when it happened.

It wasn’t love at first sight: of that, at least, he was sure. He may have been uncommonly fond of the strange, lonely-eyed boy in the early days of their acquaintance, but it was the fondness of a boy for, perhaps, a new pet or a new game. He was different—interesting. A good thing.

Then, one afternoon, as he anxiously waited for the other boy to meet him for lunch, carelessly brushing aside ample invitations from old friends without the least temptation, he realized something in him had changed. Watanuki had somehow become far more than a passing fancy—he was his one desire, his everything.

And that was good too.


	61. Gratitude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Payment" prompt.

“And Prince Charming saves the damsel in distress once again,” Yūko noted with her trademark cackle, taking in the sight of the bedraggled boy held delicately in his companions arms with undue pleasure. Watanuki scowled, but put up no further fuss. His ankle was well and truly sprained and there was no way he would make it home if he offended his only support now. “I think you owe Dōmeki payment for his services, don’t you?” Ah, dear. She had that look in her eye. “A thank-you kiss is clearly in order.”

“Yes, of cour—” Watanuki blinked. “Wait a minute! What?”

“He agreed!”

“That’s not what I—”

And Dōmeki’s mouth was on his, and he was so gentle and his arms were so warm and what else could Watanuki do but melt? It didn’t mean anything, he told himself as he kissed back. He was only repaying a debt.


	62. The Ultimate Failure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Blood" prompt.

“Watanuki?” Peering into the convoluted darkness of the room that had consumed his friend, Dōmeki was struck by an unmistakable sensation of _wrongness_.

Swallowing thickly, he stepped inside, ignoring the twisting shadows that parted in his wake, teasing him, mocking him: _too late he’s ours you’ve lost too late!_

He found the boy face-down in a pool of blood—and for the first time in his life, Dōmeki was truly afraid. “Watanuki?” he pleaded desperately, falling to his knees and turning him over.

Glossy eyes stared back up at him.

The agonized scream that tore from his throat was enough to break even Yūko’s time-hardened heart. But it wasn’t enough to bring Watanuki back.


	63. Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Scars" prompt.

Dōmeki pressed the warm rag to the wound across his friend’s back, an ugly feeling knotting in his stomach as he cleaned away the blood and grim to reveal the marred flesh beneath—evidence of his failure. Long and shallow, it began at the nape of the smaller boy’s neck, trailing mockingly down to the base of his ribs. It wasn’t fatal.

But it could have been.

Dōmeki wet his lips. “There will be a scar.”

A soft mumble was his only reply.

Feeling suddenly very tired, he leaned forward to rest carefully against a bared shoulder. If Watanuki noticed the wetness of his tears, he didn’t say anything.


	64. Virgin Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Rituals" prompt.

“It’s not fair!” Watanuki hissed, gesturing violently as they slipped quickly through the cemetery gate, but Dōmeki was accustomed to his fussing. With a hand at the small of his companion’s back, Dōmeki scanned their surroundings guardedly and set a quick pace for—well, anywhere else. The police would be arriving any minute and the last thing either of them needed was to be detained for questioning. “Why am I always the one chosen for ritualistic sacrifice? Is there a sign on my head or something?”

“Yeah,” Dōmeki smirked, “it says ‘virgin.’ Would you like me to take care of that for you?”


	65. The Lost One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Angry Spirits" prompt.

The spirits yearned for the boy, their special boy—so sweet, so pure, so deliciously beautiful. Once, every whimper, every tear had been theirs to treasure—his torment, their delight. He was their most cherished toy, their pretty marionette.

And then came _the other_ with his disgusting taint of holiness and his piercing arrows. He took the boy, stole him away, and now they could only look—never touch.

_“He was ours first!”_ they howled in fury. _“Ours! Ours!”_

“But he’s mine now,” the other said coolly, tightening his hold on the lost one, “and I intend to keep him.”


	66. The Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Clow Reed" prompt.

Yūko wasn’t quite human enough to drown her sorrows, but she could try.

The sake tasted sour on her tongue, but, then, everything tasted sour these days. Time was running out. Watanuki was fading—from this world, her world. She hadn’t expected it to hurt this bad.

She hadn’t expected it to hurt at all.

Swallowing thickly, she cast her eyes at the small portrait grinning mischievously up at her from the nightstand. Even in death Clow challenged her, mocked her. _“See, you’re not as untouchable as you think,”_ she could hear him say. _“So what are you going to do about it?”_

But she’d already done everything she could. It was up to Dōmeki now, to bind Watanuki to life. If love could not anchor him to this existence nothing could.

All she could do was wait.


	67. A Little Christmas Cheer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Stupidity" prompt.

He should have known Yūko was up to something the moment she first suggested throwing a Christmas party; after all, it wasn’t as if she needed the excuse to order exorbitant amounts of alcohol or banish him to the kitchen until he emerged with a full-blown banquet. There were always alternative motives with her.

But, like an idiot, he walked right into her trap.

“Mistletoe?” he said weakly, having followed his smirking employer’s gaze up to the plant dangling innocently over his head. Panic stirring in his belly, he glanced into the smouldering eyes of the boy looming in front of him—blocking his escape—and knew he was doomed.


	68. An Unexpected Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Gift" prompt.

Watanuki is shivering on the bed, pale and fey in the dim lamplight.  He’s nude, but for the bit of sheet draped strategically over his groin.  So virginal-sweet.  Dōmeki can’t breathe for want of him.

Is this a dream?  Has Yūko read the Wish stamped on his heart—and granted it?  He thinks of the birthday candles he’d blown out earlier that day, and how Watanuki’s face had flushed and glowed in their flickering light.

Dōmeki stands stock-still, frozen in the doorway, unable to comprehend his good fortune.  Then Watanuki stammers, “I’m sorry, this was a bad idea,” and reaches miserably for the clothes folded neatly on the nightstand—and Dōmeki knows this is real.

“No,” he says, pushing Watanuki back onto his bed, “this was a _perfect_ idea.”

Watanuki tastes a little like chocolate cake and a lot like home.


	69. I've Never Liked Anyone the Way I Do You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Festival" prompt.

Dōmeki was just turning to continue on his way, having escorted Watanuki to the derelict lot masking Yūko’s shop as he did every afternoon, when he felt a soft tug at his elbow—and realized with surprise that Watanuki was grasping at his shirtsleeve.

“Wait,” Watanuki mumbled, shuffling his feet awkwardly under Dōmeki’s puzzled gaze.  “I just wanted to…  I mean, Himawari told me that…”  He trailed off, chewing his lip with obvious frustration.  “That is, I wanted to ask you if you were going to the festival with anybody tomorrow…  And, if not…  Maybe you would go with me?”

It was Dōmeki’s turn to flush, blustering out a hurried, “No.  I mean, yes.  Er—I would like that.  Going with you.  Um…”  He’d never been so tongue-tied in his life, but then he’d never been unexpectedly asked out on a date by someone he’d liked as much as he liked Watanuki.  And it really was a date.  Considering the way Watanuki was shyly smiling at him, cheeks pink with pleasure, how could it be anything else?

Something warm coiled in his belly.


	70. Mother Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Bad Luck" prompt.

“Ouch!” Watanuki cried, eyes pooling with tears as he held up his throbbing finger.  He should have known better than to offer to help Dōmeki replace the floorboards in the shrine’s garden veranda; with the luck he’d been having that morning, the only wonder was that he hadn’t done himself injury with that wretched hammer sooner.

“Idiot,” Dōmeki grumbled, brow furrowing as he gently inspected the digit to his satisfaction.

“What’s the diagnosis, doctor?”  Watanuki forced a grin.  “Am I going to live?”

“I should say so.  It’s not broken, just bruised.”  And then, absolutely without warning, Dōmeki brought his mouth down and sucked the still-aching digit into his mouth.

Watanuki’s jaw dropped, eyes going wide with shock.  Pain was suddenly the least of his worries.

Dōmeki pulled back with a self-satisfied smirk.  “My mother always said a kiss was the best remedy for minor scrapes and bruises.”

“I hardly think that’s what she had in mind!”


	71. Truth or Dare?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Double Whammy" prompt.

Watanuki was under no delusions that girls were guided by the same laws of logic and reason as the remainder of the population—one day in Yūko’s company could dispel anyone of such foolish notions.  Expect the unexpected: that was the rule.

Even he, however, could have never anticipated that a first-year girl would randomly waltz up to him and yank him down for a kiss on account of a dare.

Watanuki had been left so stunned and disoriented that he failed to recognize Dōmeki’s fury until his friend’s tongue was already licking jealously into his mouth, turning Watanuki’s knees to jello.


	72. Now is the Place Where the Crossroads Meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Future" prompt. Title drawn from the lyrics of Kate Bush's "The Jig of Life."

“Look into the crystal,” the fairy says, holding out the shimmering babble in her dainty hands, “and you will catch a glimpse of what is yet to come.  But be warned—this is no charlatan’s trick!  You may not like what you see.”

“I understand,” says Watanuki, and—ignoring Dōmeki’s distant shouts of warning—he peers into his future.  And he sees—

_—lips meeting—_

_—hands clasping—_

_—a tangle of limbs— _

_—smiles and laughter and joy, so much joy—_

—before he falls to his knees, shaking.  This time, when Dōmeki rushes to his side, he accepts the offered comfort without complaint.


	73. Worth the Risk of Loving You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "College" prompt.

Three hours cooped up in a computer lab and he’s still no closer to finishing the first draft of his Western Philosophy midterm than he had been that morning—that _terrible_, earth-shattering morning.  Gods above, what has become of his life?

The cursor blinks darkly against the blank of the screen—cruel, mocking.  Without answers.

Watanuki closes his burning eyes and breathes deep.  This is a lost cause.  Why should he care about Aristotelian ethics, when the safe little world he’s worked so hard to build is falling apart?

Dōmeki’s quiet words echo hauntingly in his ears, the feel of those lips pressing gently against his own.  Everything is changing so fast.  He doesn’t know what to do, what he wants.

Is accepting what his friend is offering worth the risk?

Of their own accord, Watanuki’s fingers move over the keyboard with slow certainty, putting into words the only truth he’s ever known: _I can’t lose him_.


	74. The Sacrifices We Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dōmeki copes with the consequences of a Wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Stiff" prompt.

Their eyes meet from opposite sides of the room. Catch. Hold.

Dōmeki flinches under the scrutiny of the other man’s gaze—not because there is anything especially accusing or angry about that look, but because _there should be_. There should be, but there isn’t.

The only emotion in that distant expression is something resembling confusion, possibly even curiosity. If Dōmeki was less of a cynic, he might entertain the possibility that maybe something in Watanuki still recognizes him, loves him. But he knows that’s not possible.

After all, he was the one who had sought out Yūko when Watanuki had become ill—when it had become apparent that the cancer was going to win. How could anyone have expected him to sit idly by? So he’d done the only thing he could.

_“Do it. Take away his love for me,”_ he’d said. _“Take his memory of me. Do what you must. Just make him better. **Save him**.”_

It had been the right choice. Right?

Stiffly, Dōmeki offers the stranger with his lover’s face a tense smile and wonders if the pain will ever truly fade.


	75. A Simple Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dōmeki has a very important question for Yūko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Tea" prompt.

Dōmeki feels uncharacteristically nervous as he accepts his tea from the café’s smiling waitress, all too aware of the woman sitting across from him.  He can’t bring himself to look up at her—doesn’t dare meet her considering gaze.  Instead he warms his palms around the teacup and stares into the steaming liquid as if it holds all the secrets of the universe.  This had been his idea, but now he’s not sure it had ever been a _good_ one.

But there is no one else he can ask.  And he wants to do this properly.

“Dōmeki-kun,” Yūko says, her voice lilting with humor, “contrary to rumor, I am not actually a mind reader.  Is there something I can do for you?  I presume you did not invite me out merely for the pleasure of my company.”

No.  No, he hadn’t.

Sucking in a breath through his teeth, Dōmeki steels himself and cuts to the chase.  “Yūko-san, as you are aware, Kimihiro has no surviving family.  But he seems to view you as something of a meddling aunt, which is why I feel it appropriate to come to you with this request.”

“A request?”

Here it is: the moment of truth.  His cheeks burn.

“May I have your permission to seek Kimihiro’s hand in marriage?”


	76. The Apple Never Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween has some strange traditions associated with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "name" prompt.

Because Watanuki isn’t crazy enough to wish to spend Halloween on his own, he’s not terribly upset when Yūko demands he spend the night in her shop. Completing inane tasks at insane hours seems a small price to pay for a respite from the absurd number of spirits that have been attempting to latch onto him as the veil between worlds weakens.

Still. He’s not prepared to have an apple and a knife shoved into his hands the moment he steps through the door.

“Peel that in one long strip,” Yūko insists without preamble, “and toss the peel over your shoulder.”

He blinks, baffled, but complies. It’s not the strangest thing she’s ever asked him to do.

The shrill exclamation she makes when she inspects the tossed peel, however, _is_ pretty much the strangest thing that’s come out of her mouth _ever_: “You are destined to marry someone whose name begins with an ‘S’! Surely that must be ‘Shizuka’, yes? Oh, I must tell Dōmeki-kun the wonderful news!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is an old tradition of divination that states that if one throws the peel of an apple over one's shoulder the peel will fall in the shape of the first letter of the name of the one you will marry. I've only ever encountered this in relation to Halloween—and only in books. We don't have a lot of superstitions where I live, so I don't know all that much about it. I just thought it sounded like a cute idea that I ought to use.


	77. A Question Burning Deep Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "consequence" prompt.

Watanuki doesn’t remember when his feelings for Dōmeki became so unexpectedly affectionate.  The transition from enmity to friendship to something suspiciously like love was so gradual that he didn’t think anything of it until well after he’d passed the point of no return.  One day he’d simply looked up from his own bento to see Dōmeki savouring a sticky sweet and found himself imagining himself leaning over to lap at the bit of sauce at the corner of the other boy’s mouth—and the thought wasn’t nearly as revolting as it should have been.

But Dōmeki isn’t like Himawari at all.

There will be consequences should he voice his feelings for Dōmeki as there never were with Himawari.  _She_ has always been out of Watanuki’s reach, but maybe—just maybe—_he_ isn’t.  The question burns in his chest, chokes him until he feels like he’s suffocating, and he knows that one way or another the friendship they’ve built will soon come to end.


	78. The Promise of Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in response to the "Wind" prompt.

Watanuki is blowing puffs of hot air across his chilled fingers, when Dōmeki shoves a small package under his nose with a gruff, “Here.”

“Huh?”  Baffled, he accepts the package with misgivings.  “It’s not my birthday, you know.”

“Idiot.  Just open it.”

“Who are you calling an idiot?”  Watanuki complains, but does as he is told.  The brown papers peels open easily, revealing two knitted mittens.  “Dōmeki, what—?”

“My mother likes to knit.  She taught me how to make those,” Dōmeki mumbles, not meeting his eyes.  “They’re not very good, but I know you’ve lost yours, so, you know…  If you don’t want them, you can just throw them away…”

“No!” Watanuki sputters, hurriedly pulling on the mittens.  “They’re perfect—just what I needed!”  One mitten is bigger than the other, and the stitching is too loose in some places, but they’re very soft and they warm him from the inside-out.  “I love them.”

Dōmeki flushes pink with pleasure.

The autumn wind whistles around them with the promise of winter.


End file.
